Sony DRU-190A DVD±RW Internal ATAPI/EIDE Recordable DVD Drive
Written: May 19 '09 (Updated May 19 '09)
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Pros: Low cost, works with all DVD and CD discs including DVD RAM.
Cons: Doesn't read or burn HD-DVD or Blu-ray. Didn't work with a modern "all SATA" motherboard.
The Bottom Line: This is a fast, reliable and very compatible drive. If you need a low cost internal DVD burner give this Sony model a good look before you decide.
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| Gr8ful's Full Review: Sony (DRU-190A) DVD-RAM Burner |
A few months back I built a new gaming system based on the Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 processor and Windows Vista Ultimate x64 operating system. I had originally purchased this drive for that system but realized afterward that there are no EIDE/ATA controllers on that motherboard, so I had to purchase another SATA DVD drive for that system and decided to install the Sony drive into my main PC as a secondary recordable drive. Since then I have used it mainly as a CD drive but I have burned a few audio CDs with the drive as well as copied two home-made DVDs of my nephew's birthday for my brother and my mom. The drive performs well and I have no complaints.
Sony DRU-190A
The drive is black faced and installs into any internal 5.25 inch drive bay and attaches via 40-pin EIDE/ATA cable. It uses a single Molex power connector and as with any EIDE technology, you must set the jumper on the rear of the drive for master or slave before installing the drive. By default the jumper is set to "cable select" which means the master and slave drives are determined by their position on the data cable. This is the easiest way to install the drives, just make sure if you have more than one drive on the data cable you set both to "cable select" or one drive set to "master" and the other to "slave". If not you may have issues with the drives working properly.
The DRU-190A can read and write to all CD or DVD media except for HD-DVD and Blu-ray. Compatibility includes the following.
•· CD, CD-R, CDRW
•· DVD
•· DVD-R, DVD-RW, DLDVD-R, DLDVD-RW
•· DVD+R, DVD+RW, DLDVD+R, DLDVD+RW
•· DVD RAM
Specifications:
Read Speed:
•· DVD: 16X
•· CD: 48X
Write Speed:
•· DVD+R: 20X
•· DLDVD+R: 8X
•· DVD-R: 20X
•· DLDVD-R: 8X
•· CD-R: 48X
Rewrite Speed
•· DVD+RW: 8X
•· DVD-RW: 6X
•· DVD-RAM: 12X
•· CD-RW: 24X
Random access time:
•· DVD-ROM: 160ms
•· CD-ROM: 140mS
Personal Use
I have had nothing but good experience with this burner. I have it installed on my main PC which is running dual operating systems, Windows Vista Ultimate x64 and Windows XP Professional 32-bit version. The drive works under both flawlessly and the software that comes with the drive (Nero 7 Essentials) works on both systems as well. However, I rarely use it because I use other software for most tasks. I mainly use Windows built-in burning engine for data back up and Media Player for audio CDs. Nero 7 Essentials give you enough burning options that if you do not have any other software you will be ok.
So far I have probably burned about 20-25 disks using this particular drive and not had any coasters. Come to think of it, I haven't had any bad burns in a few years now. I guess the technology is finally getting perfected. Most of them have been audio CDs but I have done a couple DVD+R burns. The drive is fast enough to burn a audio or MP3 CD in about 4 minutes using Windows Media Player. Burning a full 120 minute DVD+R takes approximately 12 minutes. That's not bad considering my very first DVD-R drive took 46 minutes to burn the same amount of data.
Conclusion
This is a fast, reliable and very compatible drive. You can use any kind of disc you want except for high definition like HD-DVD and Blu-ray disc. The drive does its job without fail and so far I have nothing but good things to say about my Sony DRU-190A. If you need a low cost internal DVD burner give this Sony model a good look before you decide.
Thanks for reading.
Gr8ful :-)
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 29.99
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